DNA tests confirm coyote captured in Chicago attacked boy

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

CHICAGO (AP) — Animal control officials in Chicago said Sunday that DNA tests confirm a coyote recently captured in the city is the same animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy.

An evaluation determined that the animal was shot with a BB gun, “which could have caused the limp in its movements as well as the aggressive behavior,” according to the Chicago Animal Care and Control’s statement. Officials said they worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to evaluate the animal.

The animal was expected to remain at a local wildlife rehabilitation center.

It was captured this month after being chased by Chicago police and animal control officers for several blocks. The boy was bitten several times and hospitalized.



This Friday, Jan. 10, 2020 photo provided by Chicago Animal Care and Control in Chicago shows an injured coyote after it was successfully located and safely darted with a tranquilizer. A Chicago animal control official says DNA tests to determine if the coyote captured on the city's North Side is the animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy will take weeks to complete. Jenny Schlueter of the Chicago Animal Care and Control says the coyote that was captured Thursday night will be held at an animal rehabilitation center until the tests are completed. (Chicago Animal Care and Control via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/c2e4e29ef5f018e165c201ad86a3f09a

[Karadeniz]

1. So...the child provoked the coyote by shooting it with a bb? The child should be able to tell us if

He was shooting for fun or the coyote was going to attack.

[Tumbulu]

2. I only read that it had been shot with a bb gun. Not that the 6 year old

who was attacked shot the coyote with a bb gun.

I deal with coyotes daily. Most have their territories and most stay away from humans and livestock. But every so often one switches and goes after livestock or humans. It is unusual, but it happens, and it is horrible. I have kept the photos of my sheep that had their skin pulled off of their bodies and muscles gnawed upon while alive, because this coyote was too small to kill them. But I dare not show them, they are truly horrific. And beyond repair forcing us to put put the poor sheep down.

Livestock Guardian Dogs save my sheep. I wonder what has been going wrong in Chicago.

[rwsanders]

5. Did you acquire the dogs on your own, or were they part of the Defenders of Wildlife program?

I haven't followed weather in Chicago, but it is possible that something pushed them deeper in the city or it could be a very young/ very old trying to find easy meals, or if it is an old injury, hunger, pain, fear could have provoked the attack.
Sad to see the poor thing so terrified.
Also kudos for being a rancher who has respect for the coyotes.

[Tumbulu]

6. Thank you, I rescued one ( who has passed) and have bought one

And now have taken in another one from a farmer who is giving up, but her guardian dog cannot go live in town. This particular breed uses the tool of barking most of the night to let predators know that they are there. Which really is tough to ask neighbors to take in town. So, when she heard about how I needed more protectors of my sheep she brought this one over for a few months trial to see if we all worked out. This new to us Guardian Dog has settled in now pretty well. But she guarded chickens and not sheep and is still learning how to be around sheep. I love these guardian dogs so much. But they are so different in many ways. The first one that I rescued was almost feral. Then I bought a puppy who is bonded to both the sheep and me. This last one is so attached to my chickens and very friendly to me. There are mountain lions and bears also attacking our livestock here. I really should have more dogs. But each one requires a lot of love and attention while not on duty. I brush them and get burrs out of their toes and each has special foods, because they bark and run around all night long, it takes work to keep them well fed. They get too tired to eat sometimes! So, I cook food to add to their kibble to make it more appetizing. Anyway, each dog takes time, and so I am not ready to have more of them. I have over 200 wool sheep and only two guardian dogs. But the sheep sleep right next to my little house at night. Before I had the dogs I could get the coyotes to move along by shining a very strong flashlight at them. It has been interesting.

[jcgoldie]

8. I've got 5 of those dogs

Pyrenees x Anatolian. They are very low maintenance. I just provide free choice high protein dog food and a barn out of the elements and that's about it. As you said they are nocturnal and bred to be very independent. Friendly, but if you call and they think they have something more important, they just might not come. They watch dairy goats and chickens here. My wifes chickens are completely free range and I haven't even closed a coop door at night in years. All around us folks lose animals to predation and the coyotes are so bad they get a couple longhorn calves from a nearby neighbor each year, but with these working dogs we have no losses aside from an occasional chicken to hawks or owls (seems the dogs can't fly . I couldn't imagine having small livestock without them anymore.

[Drahthaardogs]

9. You know a couple of half wild burros will do wonders

They HATE coyotes and will kill them if they get a chance. Sheep herder around us would come up from Mexico. He always had pyranees dogs and crazy jack burros in with the sheep.

Mules hate canines too for the most part. I don't like my dogs around them. A friend has a dog that had his ear bitten completely off by a mule.

[Farmer-Rick]

13. Yeah, and I heard llamas were also useful in keeping livestock safe

I have coyotes that sound as if they are right outside my house but they are not. Every now and then I catch a glimpse of them up on the ridge.

I cut my sheep herd back and only have one Anatolian livestock guardian. I had gone down to 0 but my dog got lonely. So I got a handful of sheep and goats to keep the pasture down and keep my dog company. She's back to her happy self again.

[Drahthaardogs]

14. What is the difference between them and a Kangal?

Breed registries?

[Farmer-Rick]

17. Yeah, I heard they renamed all Anatolians

But, I find that owners who got Anatolians found them more gentle and with longer hair than Kangals. While Kangal owners found their guardian livestock dogs more independent with shorter hair.

Not sure if that's true everywhere, maybe just for this area and the breeders and trainers.

[Drahthaardogs]

18. Breed registries definitely change the dog over time

I have a Kurzhaar from Germany (FCI registered) and he is a completely different creature than german shorthaired pointers making the field trial circuit today. Lots of shorthair guys will try to say no difference, but they're wrong.

[Farmer-Rick]

20. Oh interesting.

I have very little understanding of breed registries. I just know which dog breeds work best in the mountains around here and have overheard breeders discussions.

[Duppers]

7. Exactly!

Thanks.

[dware]

12. No where in the story does it say the boy shot the coyote

with a BB gun, all it says is that is looks like the coyote was shot with a BB gun.

[lunasun]

30. No see post 28

[yaesu]

3. Most wild animals attack because there is something wrong with them due to age, illness or injury

He could have been shot by adults, they get a bad rep pretty much anywhere in the US.

[Withywindle]

4. I'm really glad it wasn't rabies

That's what I worried about when I first heard about it. Another person was bitten by a coyote in the same day not far away, my guess it would be the same one. Attacking people is really unusual behavior for coyotes. But if it was injured and in pain, that could cause it too.

Chicago has a lot of coyotes. They usually leave people alone and they help with our YUGE rat problem.

[milestogo]

10. He looks guilty.

[dware]

11. Beautiful animal.

I do hope that their solution isn't to euthanize the coyote, I hope they rehab it and release it into the wild.

I have a special affinity for coyotes, they are such smart and adaptable animals, and they're quite beautiful.

[Bayard]

15. I can vouch for Great Pyrenees and donkeys as guard animals

Have 3 Pyrs and 2 mini-donkeys. They pretty much keep everything in line around here. The dogs are in with me at night though. Donkeys will go after any canine that gets on their turf. Mine are hugely fat because they get plenty of hay and treats, but they're actually fairly low maintenance.

We have never seen a coyote around here in KY, but had plenty on the farm in eastern Calif. They would take barn cats and even one mini-dachshund out of the yard once, until I got my first Pyr. I think even the x-tra large piles of poop discourage them, when sizing up the area.

There are amazing amounts of coyotes in cities now, generally unseen. They have found the amounts of garbage people produce to be quite delectable, and there's always shelter.

[IronLionZion]

16. Coyotes and other animals have gotten more urban these days

We have them here in the DC area, including in the city. They've learned to stay hidden during the day and sneak about at night.

I've seen foxes and deer too. No word on roadrunners. If you see a coyote painting a beatiful mural on a wall, there will be an anvil or something bad falling on him soon.

Coyote Are Here To Stay In D.C. Here’s What You Should Know About Them
https://dcist.com/story/17/09/07/coyote-are-here-to-stay-in-dc-heres/

v

[jcmaine72]

19. How the hell did a coyote end up in Chicago in the first place?

My guess would some douche bag of a pet owner set him loose when he realized they don't make very good pets. It's a shame this beautiful animal has to suffer now because they were placed in an environment they didn't belong in. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and the animals won't be put down.

I hope the child makes a speedy recovery. I would never wish harm on a child for any reason. However, I hope the lad at least learned a valuable lesson after this. Respect nature. Never harm animals.

[Farmer-Rick]

21. Coyotes tend to travel and seem to adapt well to living next to humans

My daughter was in her car in LA on the phone with me and she saw a coyote walk down the street as brazen as can be. She was dumbfounded. And she knows what coyotes look like from living here.

[Raine]

22. Coyotes are all over Los Angeles County

in the suburbs. I'm in a coastal burb and they're all over here one walked down the sidewalk in front of my house at 2:00 in the afternoon. Over development has pushed them further and further into populated areas as their own areas are decimated, it's sad for all.

[mucifer]

27. They are all over Chicago, too. It's not new. The alligator thing a few months ago was new

[dware]

23. Why are you saying the child harmed the animal?

There's nothing in the story saying it was the child that shot the animal with a BB gun.

I doubt it was a pet released, coyotes have been in major cities for years now as humans intrude on their space, they are highly adaptable and very smart.

[sl8]

25. According to the article, coyotes have been in Chicago for decades.

Last edited Tue Jan 21, 2020, 10:05 AM - Edit history (1)

Also, it sounds as if you're implying that the bitten child harmed the coyote. I'm not sure if you intended it that way.

[dware]

26. Apparently someone didn't read the whole article,

and you're right, coyotes have been in every major city for decades now as humans intrude more and more into their habitat.

He/she sure is a beautiful animal, I do hope they rehab and release it into the wild instead of euthanizing it.

[lunasun]

28. Coyotes in Chicago is nothing new One biting 2 people was The thought was in tracking it was

injured and that’s why it did bite
they were correct it had leg injuries
The boy had nothing to do with the injury He was only 6 with a caretaker

https://abc7chicago.com/5863113/

Police said the boy was walking with a caretaker near when he was bitten on the head multiple time
"The child went up towards the hill and it was reported that the coyote was in the grassy prairie area and then came out and came face-to-face with the child," said CACC Executive Director Kelley Gandurski.

Gandurski said the boy's caretaker and two Good Samaritans fought the coyote off.

She also said coyotes are an important part of the urban ecosystem, preying on small rodents, and typically do not want contact with people.

it does not have any dangerous diseases or viruses
Coyotes are common throughout the Chicagoland area and protected under the Illinois Wildlife Code.

[dware]

29. They are protected?

Good, that means that this beautiful animal will be rehabbed and released into the wild instead of being euthanized.